Quote of the Week

"A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward."
- Jean Paul Richter

"I laugh at the face of danger... if that's danger at the door, tell danger I'm not home."
- BassBassDude

Change has been made

I have now officially taken the road less travelled and joined the "Dark Side".

On Saturday October 21st, I made the switch to have my double bass tuned in 5ths. I went over to my instructor's place and in 10min, he threw on the new "Pirastro Obligato 5ths". As soon as the new strings were thrown on, it seemed like I had a brand new bass. The best way I can describe it is that it was as if my bass could finally breathe properly. The open strings seemed to ring more and the tone seemed less stifled and bottled up. Shortly after re-stringing the bass, my instructor broke down my technique and re-structured it from scratch. He basically said that in order to play in 5ths, you must have sound technique and that meant starting from the ground up. From what seemed like the most simple exercises, I felt very inadequate trying to fight through all that was given to me. It was as though I was going through music physiotherapy; my brain could picture what needed to be done, but my hands were uncooperative.

After an hour-and-a-half, I left my instructor's place with a great new sound in my bass and a renewed passion in relearning what I had already learned.

Quote of the Week

"Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws."
- Douglas Adams

"If my brain were moving any slower, it would be moving backwards."
- BassBassDude

One Up Recap

Just a quick recap, played my first gig at One Up on Saturday night that went well. I never really played with the guitarist and drummer, but we got pretty comfortable with each other pretty quickly. Although I developed two blisters early on in the night, things went very well. I look forward to the next time we get to play together.

Just on the side note, I'll be playing at The Marlowe in Richmond Hill tomorrow night. Hope to see you there.

Endpin Upgrade

This past weekend I bareley got through a gig because of a recurring problem that I developed with my double bass' endpin. Basically, I had to do a few "modifications" for my endpin to work, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to use my double bass. Anyway, I got through the gig without damaging my bass and decided to replace my endpin.

When taking my bass in for repair at Heinl's, I decided to take the plunge and invest in a better endpin than just installing one that was of equal quality of the one that was broken. I'm not sure why, but it seems that I felt a little bit more comfortable with my bass. Whether it was the new endpin or if it was psychological, I'm happier with this purchase. At the very least, my endpin won't fall out while I'm playing.

Changing strings - Obligato

Upon my decission over the summer to switch my double bass tuning to 5ths, I just found out that Pirastro has a set of Obligato strings that are tuned in 5ths. To me, this is perfect. I've been playing Obligato strings for the past two years and I love the sound it produces from both pizzicato and arco playing. Furthermore, they are slightly softer than the Thomastic Spirocore strings that I was going to buy so this can help me get around the fingerboard a little better. Anyway, I'm very excited about this finding. I'll probably buy my strings in mid-October after a few gigs and take the plunge. The change is coming.

Quote of the Week

"If you don't find it in the index, look very carefully through the entire catalogue." - Unknown

"If you can't find it, it is probably lost."
- BassBassDude

Quote of the Week

"People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest."
- Hermann Hesse

"I have plenty of courage and character. I am my own worst enemy."
- BassBassDude

Play! A Video Game Symphony

Get your tickets now!

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is a Symphony world-tour featuring music from blockbuster video games. The music is performed by some of the finest, world-class orchestras and choirs. All concerts take place in classy, prestigious venues. Graphics on large screens suspended above the orchestra accompany the scores, highlighting memorable moments from the video games.

The concert tour took off in North America on May 27, 2006 in Chicago, followed by Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
PLAY! features award-winning music from a catalogue of blockbuster video game titles.

Says producer Jason Michael Paul: "We are working with distinguished orchestras that are concerned with providing quality programming for their fans all over the world. They all know about the success of our previous productions and are extremely pleased with the idea of presenting PLAY!.".

* FINAL FANTASY®
* THE ELDER SCROLLS® III: MORROWINDTM
* METAL GEAR SOLID®
* THE LEGEND OF ZELDA®
* HALO®
* SUPER MARIO BROS.®
* CHRONO TRIGGERTM
* CHRONO CROSSTM
* WORLD OF WARCRAFT®
* KINGDOM HEARTSTM
* SHENMUETM
* SILENT HILL®
* BATTLEFIELD 1942TM
* SONIC THE HEDGEHOGTM

PLAY! features around 20 titles in total, following the tradition of Dear Friends-Music from FINAL FANTASY by highlighting memorable moments of the games, showing the orchestra performing and soloists playing as well.

This should be a blast... in fact I know one of the double bassists playing in this.

Quote of the Week

"If your parents never had children, chances are you won't, either."
- Dick Cavett

"If your parents never had parents, chances are you won't be thinking too much about your family tree."
- BassBassDude

Dennis Masuzzo on Tuning in 5ths

Here's an article I found by Dennis Masuzzo on tuning in 5ths.

"For every challenge of fifths tuning (relearning three of the four strings and a new fingering system); there are many advantages, including the ability to play low C without an extension and a sense that the instrument vibrates more naturally. Intonation is one of the best reasons to play the bass tuned in fifths. I feel a connection with the other stringed instruments as though we are speaking the same language.

Learning a new fingering system for fifths tuning poses a problem initially; but if you have proficient knowledge of the fingerboard, across as well as up and down in fourths, you might enjoy the challenge of finding fingering solutions for fifths tuning. Occasionally, I shift farther to reach a given note; otherwise I use the same fingering system in fifths tuning that I use when the bass is tuned in fourths. It’s a small sacrifice for playing an instrument I enjoy more than ever."

You can read more about Dennis Masuzzo and tuning in 5ths on his website www.dennismasuzzo.com

When You Got It... Flaunt It

Well, the run of "When You Got It... Flaunt It" is up at Herrongate Theatre. I had a great time playing and learned a lot. The cast and crew were great and I hope to work with them in the future. In fact, the way things are working out, this might become a reality in the near future. More on this later...

A little bit of ingenuity...

... and a lot of free time can reap great rewards. That and a lot of scrap parts. Click the link below.
Double Bass Fun.

Quote of the Day

"Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects."
- Lester B. Pearson

"The skillled use of a baseball bat is also known as Effective Persuasion"
- BassBassDude

Quote of the Day

"A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company."
- Gian Vincenzo Gravina

"Boring"
- BassBassDude

Quote of the Day

"We're not lost. We're locationally challenged."
- John M. Ford

"We're not lost. We're just taking the scenic route."
- BassBassDude

Fountain Play

Fountain Play
Originally uploaded by BassBassDude.

Just playing around with the Shutter Speed.

With my interest in tuning my bass in 5ths, I found that there is a book my Dennis Masuzzo called "Playing the Double Bass Tuned in Fifths".  Here's a quick overvies of the book from www.inrmusic.com.

Hey! Come back here

Hey! Come back here
Originally uploaded by BassBassDude.

I took this photo while having a bit of a vacation up in Collingwood, ON. This boardwalk is part of the Hen & Chicken Trail that is just north of town.

When You Got It...Flaunt It!

Here's the info on the latest musical that I am a part of.

"When you got it... Flaunt It!"
Augist 18 - September 9, 2006

Herongate Barn Theatre
2885 Altona Road
Pickering, Ontario Canada
905-472-3085

visit: www.herongate.com for more details

Great Dinner. Great Show.
Hope to see you there.